


Should have taken the A1

by Moonprincess92



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Traffic jam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 08:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12165102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonprincess92/pseuds/Moonprincess92
Summary: “Is the traffic always like this in England?”(or a ‘we’re both stuck in stand still traffic and I’m bored as all hell, please entertain me’ au)





	Should have taken the A1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kobo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kobo/gifts).



She should have taken the bloody A1.

“There’s not much traffic this weekend, it’ll be fine if I just take the M6!” Jyn practically growled at the traffic around her. “When are you going to learn, Jyn,  _never trust the bloody M6_!”

Of course, the M6 was currently failing her. Only a few miles out of Birmingham, the northbound traffic had naturally come to a complete and utter standstill. Unfortunately, there weren’t any of the slow stops and starts of usual traffic congestion, which meant it was probably an event that was causing this particular jam. Sure enough, a quick Google search was able to tell her that there had apparently been an accident and that traffic was currently backed up for miles. 

_GODDAMN IT._

She slapped her steering wheel in frustration, slumping back into her seat. She may as well turn off the bloody engine at this rate. She hadn’t moved an inch for roughly twenty minutes now and according to the traffic watch site, the road wasn’t expected to open up again for at least another hour. All around her, grumpy travellers were getting out of their cars, leaning against the doors, stretching their legs. She watched one bloke dash across two lanes just to go talk to his mate and another legit rolled out an exercise mat onto the tarmac and started doing fucking  _yoga_. She shut off her engine with an exasperated sigh, unclicking her seatbelt and dragging herself from the car. 

At least they had been blessed with decent weather (although knowing England, that would change in a few minutes).

Keys and phone in hand, Jyn climbed up onto the bonnet of her car, leaning back against the windscreen. The sun occasionally came out from behind the clouds, so maybe she could spend this time sleeping or something. Tucking a hand behind her head, she listened to the crowds get more and more restless, obviously looking for ways to entertain themselves while they were stuck in this Living Hell. One family of what seemed to be a dozen kids started kicking a football around in between cars, their panicked parents trying to ensure that they didn’t accidentally smash someone’s window. Some idiot a few vehicles behind her was blasting techno music. Hell, it looked like the bloke in the car next to her was actually crying.

Don’t worry, mate, she kind of felt like crying herself.

It was a voice cursing loudly in Spanish that eventually jerked her out of her light doze. Jyn glanced over to see that the man who had been on the verge of tears appeared to have finally given in and had gotten out of his car as well. He leaned against the door, furiously texting or something as he muttered expletives under his breath (or at least she assumed it was less-than-savoury language, it was hard to imagine he was celebrating with that tone of voice).

She was honestly about to just leave him to it when the man suddenly slammed a fist back into his car door in frustration. She jumped at the sound, and despite all her better judgement telling her to just stay out of it, she ended up calling,

“You all right, mate?” 

The man glanced up, his expression softening slightly when he realised someone was watching. “ _Ay_  – sorry, yes, I am fine.”

Jyn nodded back.

She was all prepared to go back to sleep when the man then asked her,

“Is the traffic always like this in England?”

She snorted. “Should’ve taken the A1.”

“Sorry?”              

“Shit – I meant–” She sat up hastily, giving the man an apologetic look.  _Jesus, Jyn, you’re making jokes that only a British person would get when he’s clearly not from here!_ How insensitive could she get? “It’s another motorway – it takes longer to get to the north from where I live, but there’s usually less… traffic… sorry,” she grimaced. “It’s not funny when you have to explain the joke.”

The man laughed a little. “It’s ok.”

 _Oh, FUCK, now that is an attractive smile_.

Quite honestly, Jyn floundered a little. She didn’t like small talk and she didn’t like talking to people she didn’t know, but the truth was there were probably going to be hours to kill stuck in this traffic jam, and this bloke was kind of so hot it was making her eyes hurt. Talk about conflicting ideas. She listened to the distant sirens of what was no doubt the ambulance trying to squeeze through all the traffic to get to the accident site ( _or maybe that was her brain trying to warn her_ ). 

“So where’re you from?” she blurted out before she could stop herself. 

The man glanced up from his phone once more.  “Mexico,” he answered, warmly.

“Oh – brilliant,” she said back. “Never been there, what’s it like?”

She half expected a quick ‘it’s nice’ answer and for him to go straight back to his phone, but incredibly, he actually  _spoke_ to her. His English was a little broken, clearly still learning since he apologised for it every ten seconds, but she was quick to assure him that his English was a thousand times better than her Spanish at least. She found out his name was Cassian, and she listened to him talk about Mexico, about the city he grew up in and how he’d come to end up here stuck on the M6 with her.

“I’m visiting my sister – she lives in Manchester and was due to have her baby next month,” he explained. “I landed in London and was coming up to stay with her before the baby arrived, but turns out she’s gone into labour early. I got off the plane and realised I had about 50 messages.”

“Oh my god, seriously?” Jyn said, legs dangling off the edge of her car bonnet now as she spoke to him. “Shit, I’m sorry you got stuck in this.”

“Thanks,” he laughed a little. “I suppose I’ll just find out whether I’ve got a niece or nephew in a few hours.”

“Is her first one?” 

“It’s her second, I already have a nephew – here, look–” He moved, walking over to stand next to her and show her the photo of what was clearly Cassian with his nephew. Jyn honestly didn’t know kid ages very well – anyone under five was basically a baby to her – but she assumed the kid probably hadn’t hit school yet as he sat on Cassian’s shoulders. Mostly, she was just trying to remember how to breathe considering that he was leaning  _very_ close to where her legs rested ( _God help me_ ). 

“Is that Tower Bridge?” she asked. 

“Yes! Last time I was in the country about a year ago, they came down and we explored London together,” Cassian said.

“It’s gotta be weird living so far away from them.”

He nodded a little, pulling back his phone and glancing up at her as he spoke. “I’ve gotten used to it, but yes… we don’t have much family, so it would be nice if we lived closer together.” 

Honestly, Jyn hadn’t lived near her parents either since she’d first moved out, and on the days she got stuck in traffic jams she knew that she definitely regretted it a little, too. Cassian rested an arm over her car bonnet as they continued to casually chat, and it was weird but despite the shaky English … she found herself feeling a click. Sometimes you just did, right? You meet someone and it’s definitely no struggle to think of something to say. Jyn couldn’t even tell how long they talked for, which considering her usual efforts of awkward smiles and forced conversation, was a mighty fine feat. 

(Fucking fight her, it just  _felt right_ , ok?). 

“How long you in the country for this time?” she asked at one point. The kids’ football match a few cars over was forced to end as one of them got kicked in the head and they both cringed at the hysterical crying. In the distance, Jyn could hear car horns beeping and someone was now even playing a guitar on their car roof. 

“I was supposed to spend two weeks in Manchester and then a week down in Cornwall,” Cassian said. “Although, considering that the baby is already coming I might not get to stay that long after all…”

“I’m only up here for the weekend. You should just come back to London with me,” Jyn said. “I’d show you around.”

_WHAT THE FUCK, JYN?_

Jesus Christ, she should not be allowed to speak to people at all! She hadn’t meant for that to come out, she hadn’t even been thinking. She quickly avoided his gaze and hoped like hell he took that as a friendly offer, rather than a creepy one. 

“Are you from London?” Cassian asked, curiously.

“Actually Birmingham, but I work in London now,” she said, smiling hastily. “Probably a mistake that, considering how much it costs to live there, but it has its moments, I guess. I could show you around – erm, you know – none of that tourist shit, like a proper local.” 

“You’d take me to the places no one knows about?”

“Yeah – there’s some areas near where I live that are honestly really beautiful to walk around, but no one ever goes there because it’s too far out from the city centre,” Jyn said. “Loads of markets and shit like that – erm, I know there’s this really cool pub that’s space themed?”

“Like planets and stars and things?” 

“Actually more like the Galaxy Wars movies?” Jyn cringed slightly. “Sorry – I might be a little obsessed with those movies.”

“ _La guerra de las galaxias!_ ” Cassian practically cried. “I love those!”

“Shit, seriously?”

 _He’s hot and he likes Galaxy Wars, I am SO screwed_.

Cassian was apparently on the verge of saying more, but that was when a loud cheer suddenly sounded. Jyn snapped her head around and realised that everyone was jumping back in their cars, people hastily running back across lanes and kids piling back into minivans. The traffic was finally moving again and when Jyn glanced at the time on her phone, she realised that their standstill had lasted just over an hour.

_She had seriously been talking to this man for an hour._

“Shit – guess we better move,” she said, turning quickly back to Cassian. “But hey um, real quick, you want to add me on Facebook or something? If you do happen to come to London you can message me and I swear, I’ll show you round and stuff–?”

“Of course, yeah – hold on–” He handed her his phone and got her to punch in her name. By the time she had sent the request, the cars in front of them were seriously starting to move and they spent a (tense? charged? oh, who the fuck knew) moment holding each other’s gaze, before being forced back to their cars. It was crawling at a snail’s pace as clearly, one lane of the road had finally been opened, but was unfortunately moving quickly enough that they couldn’t afford to get out of their cars anymore.

 _Bing_.

She glanced down at her phone and realised it was him requesting to start a messenger conversation.

_Have you seen the latest episode?????? I loved it, but there was still something off that I didn’t like and I can’t figure out why?_

She smiled.

 _It’s bc the entire plot was recycled from the first movie lmao_  
But I get u  
I loved it too, even though I KNOW I shouldn’t

The messages continued sporadically as the traffic inched closer and closer past the accident site. They only tapered out once the wreckage of two cars finally came into view and Jyn could see the police directing everyone through. “Yes, YES!” she muttered, desperately. “THANK THE FUCKING LORD.” 

 

* * *

 

“I thought you were going to get here hours ago!” Lyra Erso cried almost the second Jyn pulled up into her parents’ driveway. “Didn’t you say you left at lunch time?”

“I did, but there was an accident on the M6,” Jyn explained.

“Oh god,” Lyra hugged her sympathetically, Jyn’s face getting smushed into her shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through that torture! Why didn’t you just take the A1?”

But Jyn snorted, hugging her mother back. She was about to reply when her phone binged once more. She tugged out of her mother’s arms to pull up the conversation, only to see that she had been sent a picture of what looked like a hospital ward’s neonatal unit. A tiny baby was nestled inside one of those scary-looking cots, but the accompanying message said: 

_Not many complications, just being careful since she was born early. It’s a girl! Her name is Rosa :D_

“You know,” Jyn said. “It actually wasn’t that bad.”

**Author's Note:**

> I may or may not have gotten stuck in a very similar traffic jam on the M6 before hahahahahaha. I SHOULD'VE JUST TAKEN THE A1, and I didn't even have a Cassian to entertain myself! But I could at least let Jyn's experience be slightly better than mine LOL 
> 
> Anyway, this was written as a follower-milestone-celebration thing, so Kat I hope you liked it!!! If you want to request a fic, hit me uuuuuup @moonprincess92nz (send me a trope/au and i'll do my best :DDDD) 
> 
> THANKS FOR READING, let me know if you liked it!!  
> xoxo


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